Video: Easton studio turns up the heat on yoga

Tuesday

Jul 28, 2009 at 12:01 AMJul 28, 2009 at 5:57 AM

Open Doors Studios in Easton offers a class called “hot power” yoga, where the breathing and stretching exercises are done in a room of 85 to 105 degrees to allow muscles to loosen and provide a wider range of motion.

Brittney Murray

Ashley Webb starts each of her yoga classes with some words of wisdom for her students.

“We’re not here to torture ourselves,” says Webb, an instructor at the Open Doors Studios in Easton. “You’re giving your body a great gift of an hour and a half of yoga. We’re not in a hurry to get anywhere.”

But some of her students do feel the heat.

That’s because Webb teaches a class called “hot power” yoga, where the breathing and stretching exercises are done in a room of 85 to 105 degrees. Although yoga comes in a variety of forms and focuses, hot power yoga allows muscles to loosen and provide a wider range of motion.

Called “vinyasa yoga,” which means to flow, classes vary in temperature and intensity. The temperature of the beginners class hovers around 80, while the power-level class can reach 100 degrees.

“Each instructor comes in and teaches a sequence they want to teach,” said owner Richard Lanza, who started Open Doors because of the lack of yoga studios in the area. “Chances are, you’re never going to get the same class.”

Lanza, who teaches a couple of classes a week himself, said his love for hot power yoga comes from his love of its main ingredient — the heat.

“I love heat,” said Lanza. “People who don’t love hot, humid weather tend not to like hot power yoga. I just loved the fact that I was sweating so much. I could just feel my body getting rid of toxins.”

Bikram Choudhury, who is credited with creating bikram yoga, or hot yoga, opened the first U.S. school to train instructors on hot yoga in the ’70s.

Bikram yoga follows a set series of 26 postures, whereas vinyasa yoga follows no sequence. Hot power yoga does the same postures as regular yoga classes, but the heat is said to allow for deeper stretching and relieve stress and tension, Webb said.

Those with back, ankle, knee or shoulder injuries are advised to consult with their physician before taking a class, she said. Pregnant women are discouraged from hot yoga, as it can raise their core body temperature to levels unsafe for the baby.

But for some, hot yoga can help cure an ailment, said Jean Rogers, a student at Open Doors Studios.

“I have rheumatoid arthritis and I have since come off my meds,” said Rogers, 59, of Stoughton about the pain medication she had been prescribed for her arthritis. Rogers started doing hot power yoga in November. “The heat has really helped my joints.”

Rogers takes beginners classes three times a week and finds the challenge perfect. For everyone interested in yoga, Lanza advises them to start with a beginners class.

“(Hot power yoga) is encouraged for everyone, though there are levels,” said Lanza. “People take a class that’s not right for them and they write it off and say, ‘Yoga’s not for me.’ People really need to take into account where they need to start.”

Yoga “can be as little or as much as you want,” said Webb, who started practicing yoga seriously after having her appendix taken out due to stress. “It’s a fabulous challenge.”

Enterprise writer Brittney Murray can be reached at bmurray@enterprisenews.com.

If you go: Hot power yoga
Where: Open Doors Studios, with locations in Weymouth, Hanover, Canton, Easton, Westwood, East Bridgewater, North Attleboro and Braintree.
Cost: $12 drop-in rate, teenagers, college students and seniors, $8. First time student pass, 3 classes for $20.
What to bring: yoga mat, towel and water. Mats can be rented for $1. Towels can be purchased for $3.
For class schedule and teacher biographies visit www.opendoors7.com

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